New Scientist Magazine - 08 July 2017 (NS080717)

Product Description

No.3133
NEWS
Using light to reset the body clock can treat brain disorders
hospital room
ANALYSIS
Fighting climate change could trigger a massive financial crash
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 15, 2014 in New York City. As fears from Ebola and a global slowdown spread, stocks plunged on Wednesday with the Dow falling over 400 points during the afternoon before recovering slightly
cattle branding
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we give other animals rights?
Minimising the suffering of other life forms is a laudable goal – but there’s also human well-being to consider
children
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we edit our children’s genomes?
Tweaking genes to prevent your child dying early from a genetic disorder would be acceptable to most people, but we need to ask how far we should go
depressed man
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we make everyone ‘normal’?
If more people thought and acted in the same way, societies would probably be happier and safer. But at what cost?
double exposure of man using laptop and cityscape
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we abandon privacy online?
The battle between online privacy and national security is reaching fever pitch. Where we end up depends on which Faustian bargains we are willing to strike
robots patrolling city
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we give robots the right to kill?
Robot soldiers that follow orders, unclouded by human emotions, might reduce casualties in conflicts. But who will take responsibility for their actions?
lab worker
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we let synthetic life forms loose?
New forms of life could help tackle problems from famine to global warming, but releasing them into the wild raises biosafety concerns
reflection of sun
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we geoengineer the planet?
We only have one Earth. How far should we go in our attempts to save it from ourselves?
contraceptive pills
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we impose population controls?
Future generations risk inheriting an overcrowded, suffocating planet. Taking action may mean what was taboo is now common sense
surface of Mars
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we colonise other planets?
As ever more potentially habitable exoplanets are discovered, it’s time we asked ourselves: do we have the right to take over another world?
futuristic lab
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we stop doing science?
Scientific research may lead to benefits and advances, but they seem to go hand-in-hand with death and destruction. Should we quit while we’re ahead?
fire
FEATURES
How Aboriginal knowledge can help the world combat wildfires
Wildfires are on the increase across the globe as the climate changes. To gain control, we should learn how people in Australia have traditionally tamed them
Didier Queloz
FEATURES
Premier exoplanet hunter on finding the first alien world
The idea of finding planets beyond the solar system was considered borderline crazy just a few decades ago, until Didier Queloz ran headlong Into the first one
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Leaders
Nice science, but don’t forget about the ethics
It’s time we all burst our carbon bubbles
NEWS
UPFRONT
North Korea claims test of an intercontinental ballistic missile
Google DeepMind’s NHS data deal ‘failed to comply’ with law
Rocket failure may delay China’s space station and moon missions
San Francisco is first US city to ban flavoured tobacco products
Strongest evidence yet that neonicotinoids are killing bees
Aid shipments aren’t enough to stop Yemen’s cholera epidemic
UK National Health Service should do more to exploit genomics
60 Seconds
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY
Using light to reset the body clock can treat brain disorders
Sun’s gravity could power interstellar video streaming
UK’s first public autonomous taxi trial to begin soon
Synthetic fingerprints make plastic particles tiny security keys
Cancer vaccines could prime our own bodies to fight tumours
‘Missing link’ whale could filter feed and hunt larger prey
Peering inside an AI’s brain will help us trust its decisions
Gecko-inspired robot has grippers that could clean up space junk
Children who sleep less may age faster at a cellular level
Artificially intelligent painters invent new styles of art
Birds play sick jungle beat with drumsticks they make themselves
IN BRIEF
Wildfires’ ‘killer haze’ tracked with Twitter as it spreads
Our young moon’s supersonic winds made waves in its magma ocean
People with higher IQs are more likely to live to their 80s
Cuckoo may mimic the sounds of a hooved mammal to deter big cats
It’s not you – solving a Rubik’s cube quickly is officially hard
Proton springs surprise by slimming down for latest weigh in
Old brains can’t hear similar sounds but a drug can change that
The way we run protects our upper bodies but our legs suffer
ANALYSIS
Fighting climate change could trigger a massive financial crash
Women need a rosy outlook? Then give us reason to be optimistic
Trump’s wise monkey environment plan: See no evil, hear no evil
Google’s €2.4bn fine is small change – the EU has bigger plan
APERTURE
Meticulous engravings that gave first glimpse of the invisible
FEATURES
The ethics issue: Should we give other animals rights?
The ethics issue: Should we edit our children’s genomes?
The ethics issue: Should we make everyone ‘normal’?
The ethics issue: Should we abandon privacy online?
The ethics issue: Should we give robots the right to kill?
The ethics issue: Should we let synthetic life forms loose?
The ethics issue: Should we geoengineer the planet?
The ethics issue: Should we impose population controls?
The ethics issue: Should we colonise other planets?
The ethics issue: Should we stop doing science?
How Aboriginal knowledge can help the world combat wildfires
PEOPLE
Premier exoplanet hunter on finding the first alien world
CULTURE
How the living world was changed, by the woman who changed it
Futuristic artwork captures sounds to celebrate famous airfield
How Californian design helped us to transform the world
More
Crossword No 8
Regulars
LETTERS, FEEDBACK, THE LAST WORD